Carolina (Caroline) Jansdotter (Berggren)

B. May 14, 1866 - Sätters, Kopparberg Län (Dalarna), Sweden

M. August 27, 1887 - Eric Bernhard Christopher - Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

D. November 1, 1960 - Chicago, Cook County, Illinois

Carolina (Caroline) was born to Lisa Andersdotter and Johan (Jan) Andersson Berggren on May 14, 1866 in Säters, Kopparberg (Dalarna), Sweden.

Dalarna, Sweden

Dalarna was a particularly poor part of Sweden, mostly rural and hilly. All of the Christophers and Berggrens come from southern Dalarna. It was officially called Kopparbergs Län (county) from the 1600s through 1990s, even though it was know as Dalarna for centuries. In 1997, the county's official name became Dalarna. The two names are often used interchangeably and one needs to be aware of that when searching for ancestors.

Dalarna Birth Locations (see map above - click to enlarge): Eric Christoffersson (Stora Tuna), Caroline Berggren (Säter), Johanna Lundberg (Säfsnäs), Johan Berggren (Säter), Elizabeth (Lisa) Andersdotter (Gustafs).

It wasn't just Dalarna that was poor, most of the Swedes lived in poverty. Over one-third (one million) of the Swedes immigrated to the United States and Canada in the mid-1800s through the 1910s. Dad's grandparents all came from Sweden and immigrated to the United States in 1886 (Eric), 1887 (Caroline), 1905 (Knut) and 1907 (Gerda). The Swedes, like almost all immigrants, moved to parts of the United States where their relatives had already established residency - mostly Chicago and the Midwest. From there they spread out to Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and especially Minnesota.

There was a Swedish community on the near Northside of Chicago, called Andersonville north of Lake View and Wrigley Field where Eric had settled. They had their own Swedish language newspaper (Bladet) and many Swedish shops. Eric used to advertise in the Bladet - see an ad for Cyclone Wheel, Eric's bicycle company. There was a very popular Swedish bakery (closed in 2017) and there still is the Swedish-American Museum on Clark Street in Andersonville but the Swedes have dispersed throughout the city and the Midwest.

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